Agenda item

C Taylor introduced the report to members. This was an annual update and members have been circulated a document which shows the activity that took place in 2016/17. C Taylor ran through the highlights of the report:

-       There are positive economic signs.

-       The team has 7.5 staff members but only 2.5 are funded by the Council.

-       There has been a 4% growth in jobs and a 2.4% growth in the participation rate (those that can be employed)

-       The new extension to the Maylands Business Centre is complete and all units have been occupied since opening.

-       The Urban Realm improvements have been completed on time and in budget.

-       The Enterprise Zone was launched successfully and there has been lots of investment and 60 businesses are paying into the scheme.

-       There has been a drop in vacancy rates in the Town Centre but extra events have taken place this year which has increased footfall.

-       The team has undertaken 350 face to face meetings with local businesses and this has produced good outcomes and has highlighted issues that we can address.

-       Dacorum Den has been fully funded by business this year.

Councillor Birnie said it was good that footfall was increasing in the Town Centre but he had been approached by businesses in the Old Town that were concerned about the lack of footfall there.
C Taylor said they had tried lots of solutions. They have worked with shops to improve their window displays and customer service skills. On a Friday-Sunday the Old Town is extremely busy but it is the daytime trade that suffers. There have been five new businesses opened in the last year and the council has given some financial support to the Sunday market. There are also plans to reopen the toilets. It is up to the businesses to respond to demand in the town.

Councillor Birnie said a lot of money had been invested into the Marlowes and perhaps it would be a good idea to exploit the Old Town as an important heritage site. The Tour of Britain was well attended in the Old Town.
C Taylor said the upcoming Halloween event normally brings in 5-6000 people.

Councillor S Hearn congratulated C Taylor and her team on the changes in Hemel Hempstead. He said there was a simple reason as to why the Old Town suffers a lack of footfall and that is because it does not have the necessities that the Town Centre has. Also, the car parking is an issue; it is normally full by the morning by people who are working, not shoppers. He said he felt that the Council had done as much as possible.

Councillor Hicks echoed the comments that the Town Centre changes were great. However, he asked if similar work was planned for the other towns in the borough.
C Taylor said the department had lost three staff and so resources were less. She hoped that the town centre improvements would enable businesses to invest in other areas around the borough.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said the Old Town has had a huge amount of money invested in it and businesses have had a lot of support of the years. The right businesses will thrive if they respond to demand and this in turn will generate footfall for the cafes. Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe also thanked C Taylor and her team for all their hard work. She referred to 3.1 and asked about the investment from Capital and Regen?
C Taylor said they had paid £53.5 million for the Marlowes Centre and will be investing £13 million for improvements. She said the company had made it clear that they were investing due to the Council’s work on upgrading and improving the town centre.

Councillor Timmis said the department had done a fantastic job but it focussed on Hemel Hempstead and did not help the villages in the borough.
C Taylor said the team do contact businesses in the villages and help them to improve their skills.

Councillor Anderson asked about the business interviews and questioned whether resilience had been mentioned. Are businesses concerned about Brexit and the consequences if it doesn’t work out? It is important that smaller businesses plan for the future.
C Taylor said it hadn’t come up in conversation and Brexit doesn’t seem to be an issue however that’s not to say it wont become one. The department have a history of being pro-active and responsive to the economy.

Councillor G Sutton said he had been invited to a tourist meeting where he promoted the towns and villages across the borough. Also, the improvement to Gadebridge Park will attract families and hopefully push them up into the Old Town. He said he was very proud of the team and all their hard work and said the town wouldn’t be as vibrant as it is today without them.

Councillor S Hearn asked if any work was done with schools to promote Dacorum as a great place to work once they have returned from university.
C Taylor said they do work with schools and they meet with the Headteachers of all the schools four times a year. The shortage of highly skilled workers is a county wide problem

Outcome

That the Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee approve the report and endorse the comments made by the Portfolio Holder.